“Hey, everyone,” he said, coming up behind them.
Rose turned to him and smiled brightly. He leaned in to give her a brief hug, forcing himself to pull away although he didn’t want to. He’d prefer to press her soft body against his own and give her a hello kiss that would leave them both panting, but he wasn’t ready for the town busybodies to start speculating on what was going on. That meant it was friendly in public and nothing more.
“Hi, Xander!” Joey said brightly with red goo in the corners of his mouth. He was dressed similar to Xander, with a pair of worn jeans and a T-shirt, although Joey’s had Angry Birds on it and Xander’s was a plain dark green that Gucci had featured heavily this season. “You want some funnel cake?”
He tried not to groan outwardly. Not even if it were slathered all over Rose’s naked body. Well, maybe then.
“No thanks, kiddo.” He said the words realizing his father had called him that when he was little. He’d forgotten until he heard himself say it. That made his chest tighten with a wave of emotions he didn’t expect. “I’ve had my fill of sweets for the year. Seen anywhere a guy can get a hot dog?”
“That stand over there has them,” Rose said as she pointed to a booth a few yards away.
“Great. I’m going to grab one. Either of you want something? A corn dog? Chili dog? A drink?”
“We could probably use something that isn’t sweet, too. You want a hot dog?” she asked their son. “Or would a corn dog be easier with one arm?”
“A corn dog and a lemon-lime soda,” Joey said, his mouth still stuffed with funnel cake.
“The same is fine for me. Do you need any help?”
Xander shook his head. “I got this. I’ll be right back.”
A short line had formed at the booth, so Xander queued up and waited patiently for his turn. He didn’t pay any attention to who was around him until he got his food and turned to head back to the table. That was when a blonde woman in line reached out to touch his arm.
“Xander Langston. I didn’t know you were in town.”
It was Christie Clark. Wealthy, popular, snobby Christie Clark. Xander reacted quickly to turn on his campaign face and smiled warmly. “Christie, so good to see you.” He was glad his hands were full and he wasn’t able to shake her hand or give her the hug she probably wanted.
Christie eyed his tray of food, then let her gaze stray off into the direction he was heading. The moment she spied Rose and Joey waiting on him, a wicked smile curled her too-pink lips. “I see you and Rose have reacquainted yourselves.”
“Yes.” Xander nodded, trying not to let her read too much into it. “I saw her down at the diner the other afternoon and I asked if she and her son would be interested in going with me to the fair.”
“Her little boy is so darling,” Christie cooed. “He’s become quite the handsome fella. If I didn’t know better, I’d say Rose ran out and found your doppelgänger to date after you went away to D.C.”
She was good. Too good. Christie wasn’t about to outright state that Joey looked like him. No, she was dancing around it, but her meaning was clear. He wasn’t going to let her get to him, though. “Can you blame her?” he asked. “I’m a good-looking guy. I’d try to find another one as handsome as me, too. See you around, Christie.”
At that, he turned and headed toward the table. People like her were the reason Rose wanted to keep the truth quiet and he didn’t blame her. His jaw was flexed tight with irritation, but he tried to choke it down by the time he returned. He didn’t want Rose to see him upset. She would get upset.
“Corn dogs for everyone!” he announced cheerfully, placing the tray onto the table. Rose busied herself handing out the wrapped foods, bags of chips and cans of soda. He watched her for a moment and then let his gaze drift back toward the hot dog booth. Christie was gone, and he was glad. He didn’t want her snarky self ruining his night out with Rose and Joey.
“Let’s eat,” Rose said.
Xander sat down at the table beside Rose and tried to focus on his corn dog. They were hot and crispy, so it was easy to get distracted by the food. When he was finished, he turned toward the bright lights of the midway and noticed a booth for face painting. That might be just the thing for tonight. Joey couldn’t do a lot of rides or play many games with his newly broken arm. This would give him something he could do. And if a little embellishment helped to disguise their similarities, all the better.
“You know what?” Xander asked.
“What?” Rose replied.